Building

Your
Network
Brian Tracy
www.BrianTracy.com
BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 1

BUILDING YOUR NETWORK

W
e live in a society, and as a member of that society, it is likely that every change
in your life is strongly influenced by other people in some way. The courses
you take in school that shape your career are often at the instigation of a
friend or counselor. The books you read, the tapes you listen to, and the seminars you
attend are almost invariably the result of a suggestion from someone you respect. The
occupation you select, the job you take, and the key steps in your career are largely
determined by the people you meet and talk to at those critical decision points in
your life. In fact, at every crossroad in your life there is usually someone standing there
pointing you in one direction or another.

According to the law of probabilities, the greater number of people you know who
can help you at any given time, the more likely it is that you will know the right per-
son at the right time and in the place to give you the help you need to move ahead
more rapidly in your life. The more people you know, the more doors of opportunity
will be open to you and the more sound advice you will get in making the important
decisions that shape your life.

Dr. David McLelland of Harvard did a 25-year research study into the factors that con-
tribute most to success. He found that, holding constant for age, education, occupation
and opportunities, the single most important factor in career success is your “reference
group.” Your reference group is made up of the people with whom you habitually as-
sociate and identify. These are the people you live with, work with and interact with
outside of your work. You identify with these people and consider yourself to be one
of them. They consider you one of them as well.

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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 2

When you develop a positive reference group, you begin to become a member of the
in-crowd at your level of business. The starting point in this process is to develop a
deliberate and systematic approach to networking throughout your career.

People like to do business with people they know. They like to socialize and interact
with people with whom they are familiar. And they like to recommend people they
trust. Fully 85% of the best jobs in America are filled as the result of a third party rec-
ommendation. The best networkers are never unemployed for very long.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they begin networking is scatter-
ing their time and energy indiscriminately and spending their time with people who
can be of no help at all. Even if they attend organization meetings, they often end
up associating with people who are neither particularly ambitious or well-connected.

When you network, you must be perfectly selfish. You want to become all you can
over the course of your career. You want to rise as far as you can. Any success you
could ever desire will require the active involvement and help of lots of other people.
Your job is to focus your energies and attention on meeting the people who can help
you and the only way you can do this is by staying away from the people who cannot
help you at all.

When you network, your aim is to meet people who are going places in their lives. You
want to meet people who are ahead of you in their careers and in their organizations.
You want to meet people you can look up to with pride. You want to meet people
who can be friends, guides and mentors. You want to think ahead and meet people
who can help you move into your ideal future more readily. For this reason, you must
sort people into categories: helpful vs. non-helpful, ambitious vs. non-ambitious, going
somewhere vs. going nowhere. Remember, your choice of a reference group in your
networking will determine the success of the process.
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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 3

You begin your networking process at your place of work. Look around and identify
the top people in your organization. Make these people your role models and pattern
yourself after them. One of the best ways to start networking is to go to someone
you admire and ask for his or her advice. Don’t be a pest. Don’t tie up several hours
of their time. Initially you should ask for only a few minutes and you should have two
or three specific questions. When you talk to a successful person, ask questions like,
“What do you think is the most important quality or attribute that has contributed to
your success?” and, “What one piece of advice would you give to someone like me
who wants to be as successful as you some day?” You could also ask, “Can you recom-
mend a particular book, tape, or training program that would help me move along
more rapidly in my career?”

There is a law of incremental commitment in networking. It says that people become

committed to helping you, or associating with you, little by little over time. In some
cases the chemistry won’t be right and the person with whom you would like to net-
work will really not be interested in networking with you. Don’t take this personally.
People get into, or out of, networking for a thousand reasons. However, if there is good
chemistry, if you like the person and the person likes you, be patient and bide your time.
Don’t rush or hurry, just let the networking relationship unfold without over-eagerness
on your part. If you try to go too fast, you will scare people away.

Instead of asking your superiors for more money, ask for more responsibility. Tell your
boss that you are determined to be extremely valuable to the organization and that
you are willing to work extra hours in order to make a more important contribution.

There is nothing so impressive to a boss as an employee who continually volunteers

for more responsibility. Many people have the unfortunate goal of doing as little as
possible for as much money as possible. But not the winners. The winners realize that
if all you do is what you’re being paid for today, you can never be paid any more in the
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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 4

future. The person who continually volunteers for extra assignments and does more
than is expected gains the respect, esteem and support of his or her boss.

Whenever you do something nice or helpful for others, they feel a sense of obligation.
They feel like they owe you one. They have a deep subconscious need to pay you back
until they no longer feel obligated to you. The more things you do for people without
expectation of return, the more they feel obligated to help you when the time comes.

We have moved from the age of the go-getter to the age of the go-giver. A go-giver
is a person who practices the law of sowing and reaping. He or she is always looking
for opportunities to sow, knowing that reaping is not the result of chance. You will
find that successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuc-
cessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?”

The surprising thing is that the more of yourself you give away with no direct expecta-
tion of return, the more good things come back to you in the most unexpected ways.
In fact, it seems that the help we get in life almost invariably comes from people whom
we have not helped directly. Rather, it comes from others who have been influenced
by people whom we have helped directly. Therefore, since you can’t control where
your help or assistance is coming from, you must establish a blanket policy of giving
with complete confidence that it will come back to you in the most wonderful ways.

Whatever your job or occupation, there are trade and industry associations, business
associations and service clubs that you can join. Excellent networkers are among the
best known and most respected people in the community. To reach that status, they
followed a simple formula. They carefully identified the clubs and associations whose
members they can help and support and who can help and support them in return.
And then they joined and participated.

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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 5

When you look at the various organizations you should join, you should select no more
than two or three. Target the ones with the people that can be the most helpful to
you. When you join, your strategy should be to look at the various committees of the
organization. Volunteer for the committee that engages in the activities that are most
important to the organization, such as governmental affairs or fundraising. Then get
fully involved in your chosen responsibilities.

You will find that the members of the key committees are usually key players in the
business community as well. By joining the committee, you create an opportunity
to interact with them in a completely voluntary and non-threatening way. You give
them a chance to see what you can really do, outside the work environment. And you
contribute to the committee as a peer, not as an employee or subordinate.

Remember, in any committee 20% of the people do 80% of the work. In any associa-
tion, fully 80% of the members never volunteer for anything. All they do is attend the
meetings and then go home. But this is not for you. You are determined to make your
mark and you do this by jumping wholeheartedly into voluntary activities that move
the association ahead. And the key people will be watching and evaluating you. The
more favorable attention you attract, the more people will be willing to help you when
you need them.

Networking fulfills one of your deepest subconscious needs -- getting to know people
and being known by them. It fulfills your need for social interaction and for the es-
tablishing of friendly relationships. It broadens your perspective and opens doors of
opportunities for you. It increases the number of people who know and respect you.
It makes you feel more in control of your career. And it can be one of the most excit-
ing and fulfilling experiences of your life.

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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 6

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B rian Tracy is Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing
in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

Brian’s goal is to help you achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier
than you ever imagined.

Brian Tracy has consulted for more than 1,000 companies and addressed more than
5,000,000 people in 5,000 talks and seminars throughout the US, Canada and 56 other
countries worldwide. As a Keynote speaker and seminar leader, he addresses more than
250,000 people each year.

He has studied, researched, written and spoken for 30 years in the fields of economics,
history, business, philosophy and psychology. He is the top selling author of over 50
books that have been translated into dozens of languages.

He has written and produced more than 500 audio and video learning programs, includ-
ing the worldwide, best-selling Psychology of Achievement, which has been translated
into more than 20 languages.

He speaks to corporate and public audiences on the subjects of Personal and Profes-
sional Development, including the executives and staff of many of America’s largest
corporations. His exciting talks and seminars on Leadership, Selling, Self-Esteem, Goals,
Strategy, Creativity and Success Psychology bring about immediate changes and long-
term results.

He has traveled and worked in over 90 countries on six continents, and speaks four
languages. Brian is happily married and has four children. He is active in community

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BUILDING YOUR NETWORK | BRIAN TRACY 7

and national affairs, and is the President of three companies headquartered in Solana
Beach, California.

Brian is the president of Brian Tracy International, a company that helps individuals and
businesses of all sizes achieve personal and professional goals.

To learn more about Brian Tracy, please visit www.briantracy.com/AboutBrian.

If you have any questions about Brian Tracy learning programs and services, please
email [email protected] or call 1-858-436-7300.

Brian Tracy International

462 Stevens Ave. Suite 305
Solana Beach, CA 92075

© Brian Tracy. All rights reserved. The contents, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form for any purpose without the written permission of Brian Tracy.